Question for those who play live

[NorM]

Experience speaks volumes.
Lately I have noticed a correlation between nervous shakes and low blood sugar. Have a candy bar about 20 minutes before you play and get hyped up and have a great time.

[D.K.]

Playing live is FUN!!! What I try to do when getting a bit nervous, is to tell myself, how great an experience it would be just to go on stage, relax, and play in front of an audience, and that the impredictability of playing live is what I love. And, of course, to remember, that nothing can actually go that wrong after hours of playing every day, so I just tell myself to trust my playing skills, have fun and try to blow away the peolple out there by playing well. Most of the time it works.

What I don't like and what gets on my nerves, is when the magic just doesn't seem to happen - there just are some nights where the way You play and the audience's reaction (for very many reasons) go apart. But those nights are also great, 'cause they give You the urge to work more and to do things differently.

[candid_x]

For me nervousness was walking out onto a stage to a packed theater with nothing but an acoustic guitar and original song list, as a complete unknown to the audience. Fortunately, the audience and acts I'd open for were warm and receptive, and those shows always went off well.

But for regular gigs with a band, nah.

[Jimmyb]

I always get nervous before a live show, whether I'm playing, singing, acting, running a sound desk, or stage managing. It's not something that ever goes away from me, but it also doesn't make me shake or feel ill.

I find that it helps me to focus on what I'm doing and usually makes me raise my game. I learnt quite a few years ago when still competing in shooting competitions, that I couldn't make the nerves go away, but that I could use them to my advantage and I guess it's just stayed with me.

[Tim O'Sullivan]

I never get nervous before a gig, mostly because I feel confident about my guitar playing and don't care if it all goes wrong!

[PeteDuBaldo]

I find that sometimes I have anxious anticipation. I'm excited to play, and it can make me a bit jumpy and cold-fingered. As long as the first set starts with something I can really bang out and be aggressive on, I'm good to go!

[Kaiser]

I sometimes think, am I going to remember all the songs?
It helps me to go through the set list in the afternoon of the gig (if I have time off work!).
Also another thing is having a good band around you and remembering that down at the local pub/ bar no one has come expecting to see a U2 popmart style concert! Its fun, and those I speak to say making some mistakes is part of live music. If they want perfection they stay at home with a CD on.
The key for me was regular gigs and getting rid of the feeling you are in a goldfish bowl.
I recently started backing vocals, which a while back there would have been no chance. So anything is possible!